Battle of the Philippines

The Battle of the Philippines was a major battle of the Pacific War which occurred from 8 December 1941 to 8 May 1942 when the Imperial Japanese Army invaded the Philippines and defeated the US and Filipino forces on the islands. The Japanese invaded the northern island of Luzon after their air force destroyed the US Air Force planes on the ground at Clark Field, and the local Philippine troops melted away. The Japanese advance was rapid, and they took Manila on 2 January 1942 after extensively bombing the city. On 9 April 1942, the American army on the Bataan Peninsula was forced to surrender, and the American general Douglas MacArthur was ordered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to escape to Australia and lead the Allied forces in the South Pacific. General Jonathan M. Wainwright held out on Corregidor until 6 May 1942, allantly resisting the Japanese, and the fall of Corregidor marked complete Japanese control over the Philippines. The Philippine population was oppressed by the Japanese army, against the orders of general Masaharu Homma, and the Philippines would only be liberated in October 1944-August 1945.